Coming Soon…My First eBook

Dateline: 11 March 2014

Nine years ago (2005) when I started this blog, the essays I wrote here were more carefully thought out, and I think there was more passion in them. My purpose in writing back then was to introduce and discuss Christian-agrarianism from the viewpoint of someone with a family who was putting their Christian and agrarian convictions into action. The essays were a celebration of Christian-agrarian life, without being dogmatic.

After the first year I felt compelled to compile the essays into book form, and that’s how my book, Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian came to be. I believe I’m correct in stating that my book was the first book ever written that focused specifically on Christian-agrarianism.

At this point, I don’t know of any new books that focus specifically on the Christian-agrarian life and worldview (someone can correct me if I am wrong on this). There are certainly other people out there who have the knowledge to write such a book, but they either lack the passion, or the time, or the resources to get the book into print. I look forward to reading and recommending such a book if it ever comes about.

My hope was that Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian would be picked up and sold by some Christian booksellers, and that it would serve to challenge modern Christians to consider things they had never considered before, and to think in ways they have never thought before.

The only Christian book seller that sold it was Rick Saenz at Draught Horse Press, for which I was very appreciative. The mainstream Christian book sellers had no interest in it. So the book was kind of an “underground” publication, read only by a relatively few people. But the feedback I’ve gotten on the book over the years has been very endearing. The essays really resonated with a lot of readers. You can read some feedback on The Book's Amazon Page (and thank you to you who have posted reviews!).

My first (and only) printing of the book (I think it was only 1,000 copies, maybe less) is now almost gone, and I’ve decided to edit and reprint it as an eBook. Anna Hess, over at Walden Effect, has been encouraging me to start producing eBooks for Kindle (she has produced 25 Kindle books), and she has given me some good advice on how to do it. So I guess it’s about time I got my feet wet with eBook publishing, and this reprint is a good opportunity to do so.

It has been awhile since I’ve read my own book and, in trying to get the old computer files properly formatted, I have read it several times. I’ve also done some editing, and I’ve added an Epilogue Update chapter to the back.

I edited the book to remove words and phrases that just didn’t seem right anymore. One edit was to remove the phrase, “The Lovely Marlene,” when speaking of my wife. It will now read just, “Marlene.” The reason for this change is not that my wife is less lovely (on the contrary, she grows more lovely and dear to me with the passing of each year) but because of an incident that happened when I was putting the book together back in late 2005.

Two people suggested to me that I should get an endorsement quote for the book from at least one person (for the back cover). Both suggested a well-respected Christian blogger down in a southern state who lived an agrarian lifestyle. I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in reading the book, and consider giving it a recommendation. He agreed to give it a look.

A short while after getting the manuscript, he sent me an e-mail and said he did not want to endorse the book. That wasn’t any problem. After all, people have reputations to maintain and I can understand why a mainstream Christian writer would not want to be associated with a book that could be considered somewhat “radical” or “fringe” in it’s contra-industrial assertions. But the man wrote something else that totally blew me away.

He ended his e-mail by writing (I am paraphrasing), “I don't understand why you would insult your wife by referring to her as “the lovely Marlene.”

I thought about that question for a very long time. It confused me to no end. And, frankly, it upset me. I thought I had clearly written about my wife with love and respect, and the only comment about the book he had was to accuse me of disrespecting my wife.

Beyond that, I was taken aback by the format of the accusation. Why didn’t the man simply explain that “the lovely Marlene” seemed like a pejorative statement to him, and that I might want to reconsider using it? That would have been helpful.

I struggled with this matter for awhile and finally dismissed it all as just being “his way.” Some people come across as rude without meaning to be. Maybe it’s a Southern thing. Maybe he was having a bad day. Or, maybe the guy just loathed me and my little book. :-) Whatever. Life goes on.

But this little episode came back to me as I was re-reading the essays and looking to do a little editing. On the outside chance that there might be other people who think that referring to my wife as “the lovely Marlene” is a pejorative statement, or that, perhaps, it is overly sentimental, I have removed it.

Besides that, I have to say that reading this book again was a reminder to me of how far I and my family have come in nine years. When I wrote the essays back in 2005 I told of my “agrarian vision” to own more land (debt free), to come home and have a home-based business that paid the bills, to have grandchildren and my family around me in later years. This vision was very far from reality nine years ago, and yet, as those of you who have read this blog for many years know, each of these things has come to be. I marvel at it every day.So, I hope, very soon, to have my first eBook in print. It will be better than ever, and it will be a whole lot cheaper to buy and read. I’ll probably put the eBook version on sale on the first day for 99 cents. Then I’ll sell it at $1.99 or $2.99 after that.

I’d like to do a bit of a book bomb when this is all ready to go. I’m getting the book re-listed in the browse category of “Christian Books>Christian Living>Family.” If I can sell a bunch of the eBooks on the first day it will spike up in that category and get noticed. The book might get a “second wind.” That would be fun to see. The book would then, as I noted above, challenge modern Christians to consider things they had never considered before, and to think in ways they have never thought before.

So save your pennies (99 of them) and I’ll be letting you know when my first eBook is ready to bomb the mainstream Christian book marketplace.

While I fully support your effort to release an "e-book" version of "Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian" know that there are still folks out there like me with no kindle, no crackberry, limited computer skills or knowledge (in spite of the fact that I work as an engineer), who still enjoy holding a physical book in their hands and don't plan on giving that up anytime soon. We're also willing to pay the higher price for the real deal, so please don't go all in on e-books! Also, I'll have been married to my bride for 15 years this July and think she's hot. So I for one was not offended that you referred to your wife as lovely.

Your ebook sounds great and you saound like a fairdinkum bloke.. I couldn't understand that saying your wife is lovely could be taken the wrong way??? Some people just like to nit pick..NOW, I have too go and look up what an Agrarian is???? I wonder if I am one? Blessings sent.

I have the print version of your book, and have read it several times, as have several family members, and we all thoroughly enjoy it. But, I agree with timfromohio above, in that some people (myself included) much prefer real books over ebooks, and are willing to pay for them. So please don't do all ebooks. With that being said, you can be sure that we will (and already have) happily recommended your book, and will be glad to do so with the ebook as well!

As far as the phrase "the lovely Marlene", I see nothing whatsoever offensive there. You've used that term here on your blog too, and in both places I saw that as a very nice compliment toward your wife, and it was quite obvious that you think the world of her! It is impossible for that to be offensive. Ridiculous! Rather than change your phrase, I would look elsewhere for someone better to endorse your book.

Best wishes to both you and the lovely Marlene on your new ebook venture!

Herrick Kimball, Please please please check out thesurvivalpodcast.com. I would love to see you as a guest on there.You can fill out a form for Jack online. Also I think you are a perfect match for the audience. Are you familiar with the concept of permaculture? The movement is exploding within the´prepper' community. You and your blog have been a great inspiration to me and I built my own awesome whizbang chicken plucker a few years ago. Good luck!

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About The Deliberate Agrarian.

I (Herrick KImball) have been blogging here about Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life since 2005. Browse down this column and you will discover a rich resource of contra-industrial thought, down-to-earth inspiration & useful how-to information.

My Stewardculture Magazine Interview(Part 1)

Delmar Ain't So Stupid...

Click on Delmar and read why I think he's the smartest of the three characters in the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" movie

Aphorisms Of The Fathers...

And The Mothers (click the picture)

My New York Times Op-Ed Article

The Jeffersonian Solution (click the man and read the article)

Check Out My New Whizbang Gardening Facebook Page...

(click the picture to get there)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 1

It's A Biblical Imperative(click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 2

We Are Not Called To Be Slaves (click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 3

Profile of a Free Man(click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 4

Sage Advice For Would-Be Farmers(click the picture)

Corporationism vs Independent Patriarchal Units

Lyberty Hyde Bailey (1927) Read it and weep.(click the picture)

Read The Book—Writings Of A Deliberate Agrarian

…Now available as a PDF download for only $4.50 (click the picture for details)

Farming 1.5 Acres...

…And Making A Good Living. (click the picture)

Goodness, Beauty & Loving The Earth

A Christian-Agrarian Missive on God's Creation

Reading Agriphemera

We can learn a lot from the old agricultural writings (Click the picture for more details)

This Man, Now Deceased, Predicted The Economic Decline of America Back in The 1950's.

Click the picture to read about Professor Walter Prescott Webb's Boom Hypothesis of Modern History, and where we are headed from here

Agrarian-Style Economic Self Defense...

I posted this to the internet in early 2008. It is still the most practical advice you'll get for dealing with the harsh economic realities that we face now and will face even more in the years ahead. (click the picture to read the essay)

Modern Banking is An Evil System of Economic Oppression

Click the picture for details

The Coming Pension Crisis...

...And what you can do about it. (click the picture)

How To Get Through The Coming Hyperinflation

click the picture to read the 6-part series

Have You Considered Deflation?

Martin Armstrong seems pretty sure of himself (click the sign for details)

The Christian Doctrine of Work

Something's Missing in The 10 Commandmants as it is commonly known. (click the picture)

Scott Nearing's "Horse Chow"

A Four Part Series (click on any of the raisins in the bowl)

Mr. Tesoro's Story

(click the picture)

Blessed is the Man...

Reflections on "tax day." (click the old paper)

City Living?

Some Thoughts on Christian-Agrarian Community (click the picture)

A Herod Nation

Is that What America Has Become? (click the picture)

How To Remember (And Teach Your Children) The 10 Commandments

click the sad bath

Light in Our Dwellings...

Christianity + Agrarianism = Hope In the midst of a dying industrial culture (click the light)

Have You Seen My Whizbang Gardening Book?

5 stars at Amazon. Click the cover to learn more.

New From Planet Whizbang...The Old-Timer's Poultry Library

A rare and fascinating resource for the poultry lover (click the picture for details)

Take A Short Tour Of My Garden...

Strawberries From My Garden!

Grown the "E.P. Roe Way" (click the picture to learn more)

Rural Americans: Cannon Fodder For The New World Order

Click on Sergeant York to read the story.

Freedom Isn't Free (And Other Propoganda)

(click the picture)

Esther Stermer Was A Conspiracy Theorist!

Obviously the woman was a little crazy.… Right? (click the picture for the story)

How Free Men Become Slaves...

A Contra-Industrial Parable From The Okefenokee Swamp (click the pigs)

I Make Classic American Clothespins

click the clothespin and learn all about them.

Have You been to The Agrarian Foundation Article Archives?

(click the picture and go)

What Would an Agrarian Monetary System Look Like?

Well, for one thing, it would NOT be based on paper money. Click Andy Jackson for some details.

Thomas Jefferson's Warnings About Government Debt (Then and Now)

Read it and weep (click the president)

How Farmers Became Slaves To The Corporate Masters

Click on the mostly forgotton 1937 book by Professor Walter Prescott Webb and learn the sad story

Why Food?

A Christian-Agrarian perspective (click the picture to read the essay)

The Puritan Theology of Suffering...

An excellent treatise on a difficult subject. (click the picture to learn more)

A Missive On The Prosperity-Driven Life

"The desire to be rich, to have an abundance of possessions and money, is the keystone of our modern, neo-Babylonian culture." (click the picture for my perspective)

Prosperity Gospel/ Prosperity Idolatry

Click the picture to hear John Piper's powerful 2.5 minute condemnation of the modern prosperity gospel

Homo-Tyranny

... And Me (click the trap)

Agrarian Nation

Another of my online projects (click the picture)

Have You Been To Planet Whizbang?

It's my deliberate agrarian home business. Click the beet and check it out.

NEW….Whizbang Notes

These delightful little notebooks are a great down-to-earth tool. Click the beet to learn more.

Have You Seen The Planet Whizbang Wheel Hoe I Invented?

Click The Picture For Details about the hoe and the inexpensive wheel hoe kits I sell

I Invite You To Read My Online Gardening Essays

Click on that beautiful handful of sifted compost.

The WifeOf My Youth...

A Blessed Man's Reflections on Young Love (click the happy faces)

Eulogy For Evelyn

She was my mother-in-law. (click the picture)

Ken Badman's Good Example

Actions Speak Louder Than Words. (click the picture)

Backyard Sugaring

We make our own maple syrup. Click on the picture for complete how-to details.

Have You Seen Leo Sprauer's Handcrafted Hop Hoe?

Click the picture to learn more.

Learn About Whizbang Bucket Irrigation...

(click the trickle valve)

Have You Read Roe?

E.P. Roe, that is. Click on his picture to read some excerpts from this remarkable Christian-agrarian author of the 1800s.

Yeoman Furniture & My New Wood Box

Yeoman Furniture (Part 2)

My Amazing Whizbang Apple Grinder

You can make awesome apple mash, ready for pressing, in no time with this homemade device. Click on the picture to learn more

We Make Apple Cider

You can too (click on the picture to learn how)

Twelve Years Old Today

He's actually 22 now, but my prayer is the same

This is William Kimball(Him An Me Is Kin)

Click on the picture for William's Story

Homegrown Poultry

Click on the picture and I'll show you how to butcher a chicken

The Lovely Marlene With A Homemade Whizbang Garden Cart

Anyone can make a Whizbang Garden Cart. Click on the picture to learn how.

My Whizbang Row Cover Hoop System

Finally Online as of 1/29/10(click the pic)

Have You Seen Jax Hamlin's Chickens?

Click The Chicken!

This Blog Promotes Personal Responsibility And Traditional Concepts of American Liberty

—:::—

"If a community, or a section, or a race, or an age, is groaning under industrialism, and well aware that it is an evil dispensation, it must find a way to throw it off. To think that this cannot be done is pusillanimous. And if the whole community, section, race, or age thinks it cannot be done, then... it has doomed itself to impotence."

—Twelve Southerners

—:::—

The Christian-Agrarian Exodus of 1620

The Pligrims did NOT come to America for religious freedom.(click the picture)

Vacuum Bottle Thermos Cooking

Learn how to prepare and cook simple, inexpensive, wholesome meals (click the thermos bottle to read)

The Sermon I'll Never Forget

Pastor West was at Iwo Jima(click Mt. Suribachi)

Planting Potatoes With A Little Girl

"I must admit that four year old girls were once something like aliens to me." (click the pic)

Boys Will Be…. Warriors

Swinging homemade maces at each other can be great fun!(click the warriors)

Benny's Grandfather Was A Ditch Digger

And He Grew Tomatoes (click the Big Boy)

Backyard Poultry Processing With My 11-Year-Old Son

If he can do it, so can you. (click on the smiley face)

Another Summer Evening's Meal

This is the kind of food we dream about in the depths of winter. (click on the picture)

Pickled Garlic Scapes

Click on the silly boy's nose for a pickled scape tutorial

"Every Bean's A Blessing, Boys"

Dried beans present an opportunity to teach important things to my children (click the beans)

Hay Hooks

I bought my sons hay hooks, and they have gotten a lot of use since I wrote this essay